Ernie Els: CORPORATE LEADERSHIP Inspired by Golf (Exclusive Series)
This the fourth article in a year-long exclusive series. The author Andy Reistetter shares his insight on how PGA TOUR players, competition and the game of golf can be utilized inside corporations to dynamically develop corporate leadership and culture. Reistetter has written two books- one on inspirational leadership called "The Approach" and the other on inspiration living called "Love, The Rest of My Life (TROML) & The Pursuit of Eternity." Both books are available by emailing AndyReistetter@gmail.com.
Ernie Els won the 2010 World Golf Championship contested at TPC Blue Monster at Doral in his adopted home state of Florida with the heart of a true South African.
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Inspired by the legacy of Hall of Famers Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Nick Price the forty year old Els shot a Sunday 66 to run away from the field winning by four strokes on yet another windy though warm and sunny day at Doral.
This victory was not as easy as it sounds and required true grit and determination to accomplish.
Els kept his bogey-free round intact when it counted the most with a 24-foot putt for par on the difficult 460-yard par-4 14th hole.
Then on the next hole he was able to save par from a greenside bunker while his nearest competitor fellow South African Charl Schwartzel was only able to manage bogey.
A birdie on the 17th and a par on the TPC Blue Monster's famous 18th sealed the victory.
With his ball in the hole Els raised his arms in triumph, did a quick interview with NBC's Roger Maltbie and embraced his wife Liezl.
What makes Ernie Els a role model for corporate leaders?
First of all his success in his chosen profession.
Els is a true champion in professional golf winning 17 times on the PGA TOUR including three majors, two World Golf Championships and an additional 44 international victories.
Most importantly is how he went about his craft and the characteristics that make him a natural leader not only in the world of professional golf but a natural leader of people from all walks of life.
What are the dynamics in one's life that enable him or her to fully develop their innate talents?
True to the PGA TOUR's philosophy of "giving back," Els has come from one part of the world to make an impact on the entire world.
"I've always had a great relationship with black people, white people, brown people, yellow people, everybody, and I think we want to help anybody that comes through with talent in South Africa.
His opponent and playing partner Charl Schwartzel is a product of Ernie Els giving something back way back in 1999.
"When we started the (Ernie Els 7 Fancourt) Foundation (in South Africa), this is what we were after."
"To identify talented young South Africans from families of limited resources and provide them with educational assistance and playing opportunities in order to produce successful young leaders and golfers."
Schwartzel is an emerging South African diamond in the world of golf. At age 25 he has all the potential in the world and now validation with this second place finish by three strokes over the world's best 68 player field.
His second place paycheck of $850 thousand will likely enable him to get his 2011 PGA TOUR and the opportunity to follow in El's footsteps as a worldwide player.
While the winner Els cracked the Top 10 in Official World Golf Rankings at No. 8 his protégé Schwartzel improves eight spots to No. 27 with his second WGC Top 10 in less than a month.
Schwartzel is not the only graduate of the Ernie Els Foundation in South Africa to make an impact in the world golf scene
Two 27-year olds, one white and one black are following in Schwartzel's shoes.
Louis Oosthuizen is ranked No. 68 in the world and finished No. 31 in the Race to Dubai last year.
James Kamte is making his impact in Europe progressing through the Challenge Tour (equivalent of Nationwide Tour) onto the European Tour and is currently No. 49 in the Race to Dubai standings.
Natural leaders sometimes do things that feel uncomfortable at first though embraces one's community and offers a sense of community.
It was not easy for the Els family to publically share that their son Ben has autism.
"We contemplated it for such a long time, myself and my wife, which role we should play with autism. Should we keep it very private and keep it to ourselves and deal with it."
"If we come out, everybody thinks -- we do have great lives, but in a lot of ways, we are very similar to everybody out there."
"So we just thought we might bring it out in the public and basically make other people feel more comfortable talking about it and get more attention to it."
Not only are they bringing attention to autism, the recently formed "Els For Autism Foundation" wants to "fund scientific research aimed at understanding Autism and developing knowledge-based treatments with the intention of finding a cure."
It's easy to look at Els who earned $1.4 million with this victory and discount his personal toil and charitable contributions.
But it would not be a fair assessment of the man or his legacy.
How do we look at our leaders at work?
Is it possible in a corporate setting to contribute not only one's talent but to dynamically engage in a process designed to improve the performance of all including the financial results of the organization?
Absolutely, positively, without a doubt- that is what CORPORATE LEADERSHIP Inspired by The Game of Golf is all about.
More specifics about that dynamic process will be revealed in subsequent articles.
What are the dynamics of becoming an exceptional professional golfer?
There are many with congenital physical ability, emotional and psychological balance and a drive to become the best of the best.
Access to the game, to coaches, to agents, to trainers, or whatever it takes for the best to become better than the rest is readily available for golfers in the pipeline to become the Tiger Woods of the 2020 decade if not sooner.
What are the dynamics of becoming an exception leader in the corporate world and instilling a culture at work that carries an organization to heights perhaps never even envisioned in a financial plan?
It is all about the dynamics, the drive behind the scenes or deep within one's being to put the pieces together in such a way that it catalyzes one's ability and one's life.
When Ernie won the 2008 Honda Classic he thanked sports psychologist Bob Rotella and shared some private words Bob said to him a short while before.
"He basically just wants me to be Ernie Els again, to be kind of like the "Big Easy" again. I've been a little bit uptight and a little grumpy, and, you know, basically because I've been trying to get better and win those tournaments.
Having rededicated himself to the game back then he set his sights on exactly what he accomplished this weekend two years later.
"I really needed something, some kind of a goal for me. I can quite easily, you know, go and enjoy my kids and go build golf courses and stuff. But I really still want to achieve a lot in the game, and I still want to win a lot.
Natural leaders collaborate with a wide variety of experts but in the end rely on their own instinct, their own judgment and trust themselves on how to proceed.
"You know, my wife (Liezl) can say, try and be as positive as she can, Chubby (Chandler- Managing Director of International Sports Management) can, (caddie) Ricci (Roberts) can, Bob Rotella, whoever, but I really trusted myself today."
When Els was asked what conditions he would prefer coming down the 18th on Sunday tied with Schwartzel he didn't think too long about his answer.
"I like it as tough as possible. That will make (me) think a little bit."
The "Big Easy" likes it tough because as a natural leader he wants to be challenged.
Like Tom Watson raising the flagstick for opponent Steve Marino on the 15th green in the Open at Turnberry he knows that the tougher the challenge the better he will naturally become.
"Years from now people may remember me as a golfer and a major champion. But I’d like also to be remembered as somebody who took the issue of Autism and did something with it. The rest of my life, I’ll be fighting this thing (called autism)… I hope you’ll join with me."
Els beat Tiger down the stretch at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral in 2002 and at one time or another has reigned over all of the best golfers in the world.
Ernie- thanks for the entertainment this week at Doral.
More importantly thanks for the inspiration.
There is no doubt you will help beat this thing call Autism.
PLEASE NOTE 1: The first three articles in the series can be found at the following links:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/319499-exclusive-series-pga-tour-branded-leadership
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358395-corporate-leadership-inspired-by-the-game-of-golf-exclusive-series
PLEASE NOTE 2: For clarification purposes this series of informative articles is NOT officially
licensed with or being promoted by the PGA TOUR. "CORPORATE LEADERSHIP Inspired by The Game of Golf" is just that—an inspired type of leadership and corporate culture based on the game of golf and exemplified by golfers competing in PGA TOUR events.
Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.
He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.
He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to AndyReistetter@gmail.com
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